Former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio named to CFP Selection Committee
Former Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio was named to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee by the College Football Playoff Management Committee on Tuesday. Dantonio, a recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee, will serve a three-year term on the CFP Selection Committee.
“I am very honored to be selected to the College Football Playoff Committee,” said Dantonio in a statement released by Michigan State. “It’s exciting to join an outstanding group of people dedicated to college football and I will look to bring a coach’s perspective to the process. I want to thank the CFP for this opportunity to help and serve the game that has given so much to me throughout my career.”
Dantonio is joined on the committee by Baylor Athletic Director Mack Rhodes, who will serve as the committee chair, Maryland athletic director Damon Evans, venerated college football writer Ivan Maisel, Middle Tennessee State athletic director Chris Massaro, and former Ole Miss All-American Wesley Walls, who played tight end for 14 NFL seasons.
Dantonio and the other new committee members replace Chet Gladchuk, Jim Grobe, Ward Manuel, Will Shields and Kelly Whiteside, whose three-years have expired. Gary Pinkel stepped down before the complete of his three-year term.
College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark said the following of the new committee members in a press release issued on Tuesday:
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“The additions of Mark, Damon, Ivan, Chris and Wesley will bring some great new voices to the selection committee as we enter our 12th season. Each of them has tremendous knowledge, passion and dedication to college football, along with outstanding character and integrity. Their skills and wide variety of experiences—from coaches and athletes to university leaders and journalists—will ensure that they will transition in with our returning members successfully. We also appreciate Steve returning for the upcoming season. His understanding and wisdom from his previous term will be a real benefit to the group.”
Dantonio amassed a 132-74 record as a college football head coach spanning 16 seasons, including three seasons at Cincinnati (2004-2006) and 13 seasons at Michigan State (2007-19), where he became the winningest coach in program history while leading the Spartans to three Big Ten Championships, 12 bowl appearances, and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2015. Dantonio is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, and the Michigan State Ring of Honor.
Dantonio played college football at South Carolina before breaking into the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Ohio University, Purdue, and Ohio State. After his time as a GA, Dantonio joined Jim Tressel’s staff at Youngstown State as a secondary coach. He held the same position under Glen Mason at Kansas before he was hired by Nick Saban at Michigan State. Following his time at Michigan State, Dantonio was hired by Tressel to be the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, where he won a national championship in 2002. Dantonio took over his first head coaching job at Cincinnati in December 2023.
Michigan State hired Dantonio as its head coach in November of 2006. He won 114 games as the Spartan head coach, including eight against his in-state rival. Dantonio won three Big Ten Championships and the 2014 Rose Bowl in a Top 5 match-up against Stanford.
